


More Time

by natashasbanner



Series: Bruce/Nat Missing Scenes [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Spoilers, F/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-28
Updated: 2018-04-28
Packaged: 2019-04-28 22:20:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,275
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14459001
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/natashasbanner/pseuds/natashasbanner
Summary: What could have happened off screen during Bruce and Natasha's reunion.Minor spoilers inside, but not really. But you can't be too careful.





	More Time

**Author's Note:**

> This will be the first in a series of missing scenes that could have happened between Bruce and Natasha during Avengers: Infinity War. Some may contain spoilers so read at your own risk. I do hope you enjoy though :)

“This is awkward.” 

 

Sam’s words sounded distant, like a faint echo in her head. The room was silent around them, heavy like the weight Natasha felt in her limbs. Two years of waiting and wondering coming to a head with a simple greeting. She hadn’t been able to think of anything better in the moment, but it seemed to have done the job. 

 

Logically, she knew they had to move, get a plan together and act quickly before those things came back for Vision. But she couldn’t move. Her brain shut down, short circuited with the pure shock of hearing that voice again and seeing Bruce in the flesh once again. 

 

In a single moment, two years of constantly moving and trying to avoid capture finally caught up to her. She couldn’t move, couldn’t talk. So she watched, staring in disbelief. 

 

Where she remained completely still, Bruce was in constant motion. He fidgeted with the frayed sleeves of the jacket he wore and shuffled slightly in place, blinking back at her. She smiled softly, same old Bruce. 

 

Rhodey cleared his throat beside her and the close proximity was enough to jump start her brain again. She turned and looked at him. 

 

“We’ll give you a minute.” He said it quietly, just loud enough for her to hear. 

 

He looked over her shoulder and waved for the others to follow him. 

 

“You guys look like you could use a cup of coffee,” he suggested. 

 

They all followed him silently. Sam squeezed Natasha’s shoulder briefly as he passed and she closed her eyes to try and steady herself. She waited until their footsteps faded before taking a deep breath and reopening her eyes. 

 

Bruce hadn’t moved from his spot half hidden behind the table near the door. His fidgeting had subsided however and he stood with his hands clasped tightly in front of him. Even across the room she could see his knuckles were white. He watched her expectantly, waiting for her to make the first move no doubt. 

 

Natasha shifted her weight to one foot and gave him a final once over, taking in the too large jacket and overall disheveled appearance. 

 

“Your clothes are here,” she blurted out suddenly. Not exactly what she’d wanted to say, but enough to defuse some of the lingering tension in the room. 

“Really?” Bruce asked, one eyebrow raise. 

 

“They,” she started, but stopped from lying. “Um I, brought them from the tower. Thought you might make an appearance, guess I was wrong. Tony set up quarters for you anyway.” 

 

He nodded and brought a hand up to rub his chin. “Thank you.” 

 

Bruce stepped around the table in front of him and Natasha watched him look around the room a little awestruck. He stopped in the middle of the room, only a few feet from her. 

 

“This place is nice,” he commented.

 

The corner of her mouth lifted involuntarily. 

 

“Did you expect anything less?” she asked with a raised eyebrow. “Too bad it hasn’t gotten much use in the last few years.” 

 

She tried not to sound too bitter, but wasn’t very successful. 

 

Bruce looked down at his hands for a moment, twisting a thread between his fingers before looking up at her again. 

 

“I’ve missed a lot,” he said. A statement, plain and simple. No judgement, no accusations. 

 

She smirked and raised an eyebrow. “That’s a bit of an understatement, don’t you think?” 

 

Bruce chuckled softly and Natasha could almost feel some of the tension seep out of the room. His shoulders relaxed slightly and she took a hesitant step forward. He watched her carefully, but didn’t back away. A good sign. 

 

“I’m sorry,” she started, but he sighed and shook his head. 

 

“Don’t be,” he said shortly. “It’s in the past. We’ve got bigger things to worry about now.” 

 

Natasha nodded. She swallowed around the lump in her throat. 

 

“You were okay though, right?” 

 

She wanted, needed to know. Her actions, however well intentioned, lead to his disappearance and whatever happened to him in that time. She’d spent hours worrying about where he ended up and if he was safe. She needed to know that she hadn’t caused him to suffer. 

 

Bruce sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. 

“That’s kind of a long story,” he said and chuckled lightly. “Maybe I’ll tell you about it when all of this is over.” 

 

Natasha smiled softly. “I’ll hold you to it.” 

 

They fell silent again, but it was different. The heavy tension was replaced with an familiar, awkward energy. There wasn’t much else to say, but she didn’t want to let the moment go, not yet. But she could hear the others’ voices getting louder and knew they would have to rejoin them sooner, rather than later. 

 

“We should probably head in there,” Bruce said as if he’d read her mind. 

 

“Probably,” she agreed, but neither of them moved. 

 

Even after all that time they were still in sync. It would have been romantic in another situation, Natasha thought ruefully.  Bruce looked down at his hands again and turned away to head into the other room. 

 

A wave of sadness, years’ worth of repressed emotion, crashed over her in that moment. Everything she’d refused to feel came bubbling to the surface and her composure shattered. She stumbled back several steps until she felt the table hit her lower back. 

 

She sucked in a shuddering breath and clutched the table to keep from falling to the ground. Relief, guilt, anger, sadness and everything in between came at her all at once. Her eyes stung and her vision blurred with unshed tears, but she fought them back. 

 

“Bruce,” was all she said, a quiet whisper in the too quiet room. 

 

But it was enough to stop him in his tracks. Slowly, he turned to face her and she could see her own tears reflected in his eyes. 

 

Natasha pushed away from the table and in a few short steps she was across the room. Without warning or hesitation, she threw her arms around him and pulled him close. It only took a moment for his arms to wrap around her in return. His hands rested at her lower back and pulled her impossibly closer until they were flush against each other. 

 

She ran her hand up his back until she reached the hair on his neck. It was rougher than she remembered, short and greying, but his response was the same. A soft sigh escaped his lips and he leaned into his touch. 

 

“Natasha,” he breathed out, clinging to the material of her vest. 

 

She leaned up and pressed a lingering kiss on his cheek. 

“I wish we had more time,” she whispered against his skin. 

 

His lips brushed her temple and he rested his head on hers. 

 

“Me too.” 

 

Natasha closed her eyes and took a deep breath, committing his scent to memory, relishing in the feeling of his skin against hers. She wanted to remember everything about this before they were thrown back into another global catastrophe. It wasn’t fair, not that anything in her life had ever been fair, but it was just her luck that Bruce came back when the world was ending. 

 

She opened her eyes and saw Rhodey watching them from the other room. Their time was up. 

 

Natasha kissed Bruce’s cheek one last time before pulling away. 

 

“Duty calls,” she tried to joke, but it just fell flat. 

 

Bruce smiled softly. “Unfortunately.” 

 

Natasha shook her head and tried to regain some of her composure before joining the rest of the team. She followed Bruce into the other room and back to reality. 


End file.
